Teen Shot over Replica Gun Wants Personal Apology from Police

A 15-year-old teenager shot in the back by an Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officer on February 17 says he wants a personal apology from the officer who shot him.

The officer was reacting to the sight of one youth pointing a gun at another youth on street corner. The gun turned out to be a replica.

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An LAPD captain has apologized to the teen’s mother, but the teen–Jamar Nicholson–said “he wants to hear that directly from the officer who shot him.”

According to the Los Angeles Times, the incident took place on Tuesday morning while Nicholson “was standing next to a person holding a replica weapon.” He and his friends “were walking their normal route to school, when he heard someone yell ‘Freeze!'”

Shots were fired, and Nicholson said he did not know he had been hit “until he’d fallen to the ground.”

Residents in the vicinity of the incident claim they heard shots fired but no warning to drop the weapon beforehand. LAPD spokesman Commander Andrew Smith said “officers ordered the person to drop the gun and opened fire when he didn’t comply.”

Nicholson’s injuriess were not life threatening. He was taken to hospital, treated, then released.